Statement of Faith

Contents

Biblical Significance

1 Timothy 1:15-17 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Basic Christian: Statement of Faith

• We believe that God is the creator of the universe creating both of the seen (physical) and the unseen (spiritual) realms and that God the creator is also the giver of life.

• We believe the Holy Bible is God's word Personally spoken by God for mankind for the purpose of revealing who He is and it is without error in all issues to which it speaks.

• We believe in the Triunity (Trinity), one God in three Persons, consisting of Father, Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

• We Believe Jesus Christ is Divine God who came from Heaven to mankind as a man yet retaining the Divinity of God and who while living a sinless life was rejected and betrayed by man to be crucified and die on the cross yet not to remain dead but to Resurrect the third day in accordance with His Everlasting Divine life.

• We believe that the death of Jesus on the cross provided complete atonement for all the sins of the world therefore cleansing those who choose to be cleansed from their sin to then receive the Holy Spirit and by receiving the Holy Spirit becoming "Born Again" and being Born Again becoming children of God. Children in the family of God and as children in a personal relationship with their Father who is God above all and as children also inheritors in the Heavenly Kingdom of Jesus the kingdom that is without end.

• We believe that Jesus is the judge of all of mankind's thoughts, intentions and actions and that He is just and wise in His judgment. As judge, Jesus will judge the unjust [those who are not covered by the blood of Jesus Christ] to everlasting condemnation while to the righteous [those who are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ] He will give of His life, His gifts, and His glory.

• We believe Jesus physically rose from the dead, was seen by and interacted with many eyewitnesses including the Disciples and Apostles and that Jesus has now ascended back into Heaven where He originally came from. Jesus is currently seated in Majesty, Power and Authority alongside the Father and He is now accessible to us in both Prayer and Fellowship.

God Bless you
David Anson Brown

The Apostles' Creed

Traditional English Version

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker [Creator] of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was *conceived by the Holy Ghost [Luke 1:35, Hebrews 10:5], born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell [to the ancient, redeemed, righteous, paradise side of hell [Luke 16:22, Acts 2:31-32, 1 Peter 3:18-19] with Abraham and the rest of the O.T. saints of old -– not to eternal hell or the torments of hell]; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty [1 Peter 3:22]; from thence He shall come [Second Coming] to judge the quick [living] and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic [greater] Church; the Communion [Fellowship - with God and with one another] of Saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.

A physical body for the manifested incarnation of Jesus Christ into the physical world was prepared by God the Holy Ghost in Mary. Neither was there a physical encounter between God the Father and Mary nor does God the Holy Spirit comprise a female Spiritual form being that Mary was female and the Holy Ghost who only 'overshadowed' Mary is God Himself and of the nature and substance of God.

THE NICENE CREED 325 A.D.

TRADITIONAL WORDING

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten [incarnate] Son of God, begotten [in the flesh with the approval] of His Father [but eternal with the Father and the Holy Ghost] before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten [manifested], not made, being of one substance with the Father [and the Holy Ghost]; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick [living] and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Live, who proceedeth [provides intervention mor mankind] from [both] the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets.

And I believe one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

AMEN.

The Nicene Creed is the most widely accepted and used brief statements of the Christian Faith. In liturgical churches, it is said every Sunday as part of the Liturgy. It is Common Ground to East Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Calvinists, and many other Christian groups. Many groups that do not have a tradition of using it in their services nevertheless are committed to the doctrines it teaches.

(Someone may ask, "What about the Apostles' Creed?" Traditionally, in the West, the Apostles' Creed is used at Baptisms, and the Nicene Creed at the Eucharist (aka the Mass, the Liturgy, the Lord's Supper, or the Holy Communion). The East uses only the Nicene Creed.)

I here present the Nicene Creed in two English translations, The first is the traditional one, in use with minor variations since 1549 A.D., The second is a modern version, that of (I think) The Interdenominational Committee on Liturgical Texts. Notes and comment by me follow.

The Athanasian Creed

Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic [one-universal] faith. Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith:

That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity [TriUnity], neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence. For the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of the Holy Spirit still another. But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty co-eternal.

What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has. The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated. The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal. And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being. So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings; there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being. Similarly, the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty. Yet there are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty being.

Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three gods; there is but one God. Thus the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord. Yet there are not three lords; there is but one Lord.

Just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually as both God and Lord, so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords. The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone. The Son was neither made nor created; He was begotten from the Father [God] alone. The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten; He proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers; there is one Son, not three sons; there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits. Nothing in this trinity is before or after,
nothing is greater or smaller; in their entirety the three persons are co-eternal and co-equal with each other. So in everything, as was said earlier, we must worship their trinity in their unity and their unity in their trinity [TriUnity].

Anyone then who desires to be saved should think thus about the Trinity [TriUnity].

But it is necessary for eternal salvation that one also believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.

Now this is the true faith:

That we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, is both God and human, equally. He is God from the essence of the Father, begotten before time; and He is human from the essence of his mother [Virgin Mary], born in time; completely God, completely human, with a rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as regards divinity, less than the Father as regards humanity.

Although He is God and human, yet Christ is not two, but one. He is one, however, not by his divinity being turned into flesh, but by God's taking humanity to Himself. He is one, certainly not by the blending of His essence, but by the unity of His person. For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh, so too the one Christ [Jesus Christ] is both God and human.

He suffered for our salvation; He descended to hell; He arose from the dead; He ascended to heaven; He is seated at the Father's right hand; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. At His coming all people will arise [the redeemed] bodily [the unsaved as disembodied souls] and [all] give an accounting of their own deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal life, and those [unconfused] who have done evil will enter eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith: one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.

This creed is named after Athanasius (A.D. 293-373), the champion of orthodoxy against Arian attacks on the doctrine of the trinity. Although Athanasius did not write this creed and it is improperly named after him, the name persists because until the seventeenth century it was commonly ascribed to him. It is not from Greek (Eastern), but from Latin (Western) origin, and is not recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church today. Apart from the opening and closing sentences, this creed consists of two parts, the first setting forth the orthodox doctrine of the trinity, and the second dealing chiefly with the incarnation and the two-natures doctrine. The translation above was adopted by the CRC Synod of 1988.